Many of the widely used oxidizing agents, (e.g., hydrogen peroxide and 3-chioroperbenzoic acid (m-CPBA)) cause over-oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides and then to sulfones. Selective oxidation by hydrogen peroxide requires tellurium dioxide (TeO.sub.2) to moderate its reactivity and avoid over-oxidation. The reaction takes several hours for completion (see K. S. Kim et al., Tetrahedron Lett. 1990, 2893). T. Kageyama in Synthesis 1983, 815, reports that sodium bromite (NaBrO.sub.2) is a selective reagent for the oxidation of sulfides in aqueous dioxane. This reagent requires purification at low temperature and currently is not commercially available. T. H. Kalanter et al., CHEMTRACTS 1989, 2(2), 119, used halogen-alcohol in a bicarbonate buffer to oxidize a series of functionalized aldehydes to esters. Long reaction times were necessary. Stabilized bromine chloride prepared by combining aqueous halide salt solutions or hydrohalic acids with bromine chloride has been used as a biocide for water treatment (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,652).
We have now found that halide salt stabilized bromine chloride solutions are effective, stable, easy to store, and handle, selective oxidizing agents for organic compounds. The stabilized brornine chloride solutions can selectively and rapidly provide quantitative conversions of, for example, organic sulfides and phosphines to oxidized products.